The TP52 of the Armada is at the forefront of the most powerful class in the fleet after a day of two races in the bay of Palma.
The bay of Palma kicked off this Tuesday the 44th edition of the Copa del Rey Mapfre with a day marked by the embat wind, which allowed the completion of the two races scheduled in the inaugural programme. Among the five groups that competed, the Hispania, from the Naval Regatta Commission of the Balearics, positioned itself at the top of the Abanca ORC 0 class, which includes the most powerful boats in the fleet.
The new Spanish TP52, helmed for the first time by King Felipe, secured a close second place (just two seconds behind the winner, the Vudu) and a convincing victory (25 seconds ahead of its Italian rival). With these results, the boat returned to the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) tied on points with Mauro Gestri's team, which occupies second place. The Kilara, owned by Swiss Jeremy Weir, is third, four points behind.
Alberto Barovier, tactician of the Hispania, highlighted the monarch's role at the helm in his debut with the new vessel of the Spanish Armada. "The King sailed very well. We have been training hard and he is very focused, which is not easy in conditions like these," he noted. Barovier also emphasized the differences of the new boat: "We have many tools that allow us to go faster, but in this fleet, with so many excellent sailors, you have to fight hard to get ahead. Today we achieved that."
In the Sail Racing ORC A class, the provisional standings show a tie between two Carkeek 40s: the Rán, owned by Swedish Niklas Zennström (2+1), and the Nola, owned by Estonian Taavet Hinrikus (1+2), following the resolution of a protest that granted a redress to the Rán in the first race. The Garm, owned by Per Roman, is third. Andy Hemmings, trimmer of the Rán, assessed the day: "What more can you ask for? We had a maximum wind of between 13 and 13.5 knots. Nola and we are competing with very similar boats and we are enjoying it a lot."
In the most numerous and international class, the Uber ORC B, the new XR-41 Teatro del Soho San Miguel, owned by Javier Banderas, is the first leader after a shared victory with the Solgreen Frutis of Javier de Tomás in the first race and a third in the second. It leads by half a point over L’Immens of Nicolás González and by 3.5 over Ebury of Javi Sabote. Banderas downplays the initial lead: "It has been a beautiful and competitive day, but this has only just begun. This regatta will consist of not getting into trouble from the start; the most consistent will win."
The Niramo, owned by Sönke Meier, was the best of the day among the 21 teams in the Azulmarino ORC C class. With a first and a second, the German Cape 31 leads by four points over the tie between the Wanderlust X of Balearic Josep Pons and the Django of Italian Vittorio Lombardi. In the one-design ClubSwan 42s, the Nadir, owned by Balearic Pedro Vaquer, recorded the only perfect score of the day and leads by three points over the Selene Alifax of Massimo de Campo. Canary tactician Rayco Tabares commented: "It was a day where tactics were very important, it wasn't just a single tack. It's much tighter than it seems, because we've won both races, but we've been very close."
The competition continues this Wednesday with the second day, which will include the women's class. The races will take place in the bay of Palma until Saturday, with the trophy presentation scheduled for the end of the week.
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